A California woman was sentenced to nine years in prison Oct. 15 for stealing more than $184,000 from as many as a dozen people through an identity theft scheme in the Chicago area, according to a news release from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

Pamela Keane, 48, of California, entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise, one count of forgery and one count of possession of a counterfeit credit card on July 30, the release said.

To withdraw money from accounts at banks in Glen Ellyn, Lombard and Wheaton, Keane presented a fake California driver's license with the name of a victim and her photograph to access that person's account, according to the release.

In late 2012, authorities believe she did this at least 12 times with 12 separate victims, the release said.

Keane also used doctored credit cards to purchase clothing, purses, laptops, iPads, Playstations and other electronic devices, according to the release.

The identity theft scheme first was discovered Dec. 6, 2012, when Downers Grove police responded to an incident at a local hotel and found several driver's licenses with Keane's photo and different names, the release said.

Keane must serve 50 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole, according to the release.